Despite a regrettably minor presence within the audience, Irish singer-songwriter Marc O’Reilly and his band performed beautifully together on Friday 14th October 2016.
The main question that came to my mind during his charismatic performance was where was everybody? In such a small venue, you would expect it to be full to the brim with fans or purely just lovers of live music, although dejectedly this was not the case. Connecting to the band throughout their performance proved to be a difficulty for this reason, as the buzzing atmosphere of the gig was affected by the lack of people. However, the crowd were all captivated by the performance once Marc began to sing and I think it’s safe to say that if you weren’t there, you were certainly missing out.
In some ways, the fact that an undersized amount of people attended Princess Pavillions to watch Marc O’Reilly added to the intimacy of his performance however this would have been enhanced further if it were in an even smaller venue again.
Regardless of the amount of people in his crowd, the sound execution was clear and vivid. Complimenting the bands musical talent, the sound quality from the venue ensured that the audience were mesmerised and silent throughout Marc’s performance.
Enchanting the entire room with their passionate vocals, Marc O’Reilly and his band performed his heartfelt originals, including a couple from his new album Morality Mortality for example one of his new singles ‘Compromise.’ This song in particular highlights the bands fantastic ability to work together instrumentally which ultimately makes it very easy to listen to. As a result of the brilliant bond between the way their instruments were being played, the song is also catchy and therefore grasped the attention of the majority of his audience.
His ability to connect with the crowd by performing personal and profound songs to such a small audience with complete honesty is rare in comparison with many artists in modern day music as it’s one of the main skills that most singers lack in. The fact that Marc is a songwriter allows him to be entirely truthful and tell his stories through the art of music is powerful, and this is certainly something that people should go to see if they get the chance.
Megan Price Portfolio 